Corn silage is one of the major components in dairy cattle rations in the United States. Many factors affect the nutritional composition of corn for silage, such as cropping system, including cover crops, and the composition of the corn plant cell wall. The objectives of the first study were to determine the nutritional quality of different winter crops for silage and to determine the impact of the various winter crops on the succeeding productivity of corn and sorghum. Experimental plots were planted with 15 different winter crop treatments: 5 winter annual grasses in monoculture or with one of two winter annual legumes (crimson clover [CC] and hairy vetch [HV]). After harvesting the winter crops, each plot was planted with either corn or forage sorghum. Crimson clover increased DM yield compared to monocultures but HV did not. Adding legumes increased the crude protein concentration, but reduced the fiber and sugar concentrations of the forages. Even though in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility was reduced with the addition of legumes, the concentration of highly digestible non-fibrous components is greater in the mixtures than the monocultures, increasing the nutritive value of the silage. The objective of the second study was to determine the cell wall (CW) composition along the corn stalk. Three phytomers of corn plants were examined: center (C) of ear insertion, upper (U) and lower (L) phytomers. Each phytomer was cut into 4 sections: top (T), middle (M), bottom (B), and node (N). The CW, uronic acid (UA), glucose (GLU), and lignin concentrations did not change among phytomers. The concentrations of arabinose (ARA) and xylose (XYL) were greater in the U than in the L phytomers. Concentrations of CW, ARA, and XYL increased from B to T within the phytomer, but UA and GLU concentrations decreased from B to T. Lignin did not change within the phytomer. In mature corn for silage, changes within the corn internode may be more useful in determining how the environment changes the CW. / Ph. D. / Corn silage is one of the major components in dairy cattle rations in the United States. Many factors can affect the nutritional composition and digestibility of corn for silage, including the crops planted before the corn and the maturity of the corn. I first explored the nutritional quality and potential of different winter crops for use as silage and how these various winter crops impacted the succeeding productivity of corn and sorghum. We used 15 different winter crop treatments: 5 winter annual grasses in monoculture or mixed with one of two winter annual legumes (crimson clover and hairy vetch). After harvesting the winter crops, corn and forage sorghum were planted. The addition of legumes increased winter crop yield compared to monocultures. Adding legumes increased the protein concentration, but reduced the reduced the fiber and sugar concentrations of the winter crops. Fiber digestibility was reduced with the addition of legumes. The type of grass and legume did not change the nutrient composition of the corn and sorghum. I then explored how the cell wall (CW) composition changes along the corn stalk. Corn plants are split up into phytomers. Each phytomer contains a leaf, a section of the stalk called an internode, and a node (connects internodes). Phytomers at the top of the corn plant are less mature than ones at the bottom, and maturity increases from bottom to top within a corn internode. Three phytomers of individual corn plants were each cut into 4 sections: top, middle, bottom, and node. In plants, the primary cell wall is deposited first. The primary cell wall contains cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. The secondary cell wall is deposited after growth. The secondary cell wall is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Corn that is harvested for cows to eat is usually at a late stage of maturity. Therefore, in our study we saw very few differences among phytomers as cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin had most likely been fully deposited. However, within the corn internode, we did see variability in the corn plant cell wall. The cell wall concentration overall increased with maturity within the corn internode. Further, arabinose and xylose concentrations (sugars from hemicellulose) also incased with maturity. Hemicellulose is important in connecting the rest of the cell wall to lignin later in maturity. The concentration of uronic acids from pectin and glucose from cellulose decreased with maturity because these are typically deposited first within the plat cells and then level off once lignin is deposited. In mature corn for silage, changes within the corn internode may be more useful in determining how the environment changes the CW.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/78909 |
| Date | 15 September 2017 |
| Creators | Brown, Alston Neal |
| Contributors | Dairy Science, Ferreira, Gonzalo, Seiler, John R., Thomason, Wade E., Corl, Benjamin A. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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